Fireworks off the bat: Hamlin, Martin wreck in Shootout practice
Posted above: your first shot of cars rolling in the 2010 NASCAR season, taken Thursday during Bud Shootout practice, featuring Matt Kenseth's new look. Posted below: your info on the first wrecks of the 2010 NASCAR season.
Denny Hamlin is right there in the middle of the photo above, and Hamlin is also putting himself right in the middle of this young NASCAR season. During practice on Thursday, Hamlin collided with Mark Martin, setting off a multicar wreck that collected Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer. (Bowyer was running in the No. 29 car for Kevin Harvick, who was out sick.)
The wreck, which happened when Martin made contact with Hamlin, cut short a projected 45-minute practice session after 20 minutes and forced the drivers to use backup cars for Saturday night's Bud Shootout.
Oh, but the denting wasn't done. Just three minutes into the second practice session, Kurt Busch collided with Juan Pablo Montoya, sending KB into the wall.
"That's what we were looking for -- aggressive bump-drafting [and] trust me, we're not finished," Biffle said afterward. "What are we, 20-30 minutes into practice? It's gonna be awesome." (Unfortunately, as I didn't see Biffle's interview live, it's tough to tell whether he was being sarcastic or serious.)
Martin, meanwhile, addressed the question of whether this kind of racing is an outgrowth of the "have at it, boys" new school of NASCAR oversight: "I don't think so. That's two guys trying to be on the safe side and ran together anyway. That's definitely not having at it. There wasn't no having at it." Darn tootin'.
You can check out video of the Hamlin/Martin dustup right here. Below, video of the Montoya/Busch wreck:
Oh, racing. We've missed you so.
